Mercenaries
by drawingfreak
Summary: CHAPTER 6 IS ON THE WAY!...Don't miss it.
1. Beginnings

Long had been their travels. Each from different parts of the region, they had meet quite by accident when all of them tried to stop a brawl at a tavern. Talking over a few pints of ale, they agreed to set up a mercenary clan. With their combined forces, they would be worthy of whatever task was set before them. Walking south, they saw a large group of travelers walking their way.

"Must be people from the next town," Dorn, the leader, said. The group watched as the peasants approached. Some looked at the wizard and barbarian with fear or hatred. Nomads and people dealing with magic most likely weren't welcome in their town.

"Excuse me," Silah, the cleric, asked one of the passing peasants quickly, "But why are there so many of you leaving the next town?"

"There's bad happenings down there," the elderly man replied, "Many of our kin have died of some kind of illness that just suddenly appeared out of no where. There have also been tales of strange creatures in the mines attacking our miners. We just gave up trying to live there anymore."

"Mines?" Jomz, the rouge, asked.

"Aye, the mines. Littered with silver ore ripe for the pickin'." The eyes of the small clan lit up. "But no one dares go down there anymore. Cursed it is. A shame, really." With that, he continued his trek next to his brethren.

"Silver ore! That's a good five hundred gold for just a small chunk of it," Tateland, the wizard, said.

"I say we go check it out," Dorn suggested. All quickly agreed and they soon followed the road down to the small town they saw peaking over the next hill.

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"What?" Tateland asked in surprise.

"I want you and Slaut here to stay outside just in case something happens," Dorn tried to explain to the wizard. "We might scare up a nest of goblins or kobolds that we might need to chase out, or something might try to come in to help what ever is in here. In short, nothing comes in or out unless it's us. Understood?"

"Fine! But don't come crying to me when you desperately needed my knowledge of the magic arts to save your orc loving backside." He walked over to the barbarian who was a good half a foot taller than the angry wizard, childishly admiring a flock of geese flying by. "Hey, big guy. Let's set up a small camp here."

"I'll get wood for flames," Slaut said, and he stomped off into the woods close by.

The rest of the group slowly made their way into the mine. Dorn held a torch in front of him, leading the way down the corridor with Silah right behind, using her natural half-elven talents to see further into the dark than the torch would allow.

About ten minutes had passed when they found themselves standing in a chamber filled with chunks of silver ore scattered on the ground next to an over turned cart, a pair of legs jutting out from beneath them. Silah held back a scream, terror forming in her eyes. Lor passed her and picked up a rock.

"Here's some of that ore we heard tale of," he said. Jomz and Dorn looked at each other and then started to collect ore themselves, dreaming of what great riches awaited them.

"Shouldn't we check the body?" Silah asked. "He might still be alive." Dorn raised his torch to the wall.

"Have you noticed the blood soaked walls?" he asked. Silah held back another scream. "I doubt all of it is his," Dorn continued, "But it is really unlikely anyone survived whatever happened down here."

Jomz placed one last piece of ore into his bag before he said, "Here, I'll help you."

"Thank you, Jomz." Silah reached for the left end of the cart as Jomz took his place at the right.

"Ready?" he asked. The cleric nodded. "One, two, three!" They pulled the cart up, tripping a wire. A loud crash of thunder filled the chamber, knocking Silah and Jomz off their feet. Bells replaced what they once had for hearing. Dorn and Lor quickly recovered from the shock of hearing such a sudden noise in order to help their comrades.

"Are you okay?" Dorn asked Silah.

"What?" she asked rather loudly. Dorn quickly motioned for her to remain silent, then to the fact that her hearing would be gone for a little while.


	2. Exploring the Mine

"They're hearing will be gone for about an hour," Lor informed Dorn.

"Great," Dorn complained throwing up his arms. He let out a quick breath of frustration and then looked to his comrades. "Let's move on down the left tunnel." He motioned to his two deaf companions to follow.

Minutes passed before they found a wooden door. Lor reached for the handle but then pulled back.

"What's wrong?" Dorn asked.

"I'm going to check for traps first," the ranger replied. He carefully examined the door with his fingers and looked up and down every grain in the wood before looking back to Dorn and nodding. Dorn nodded back and then reached for the door, but he too hesitated. A thought had crossed his mind. A grin crossed his face as he motioned for Jomz to open he door.

Jomz reluctantly cracked the door slightly ajar just enough to peek in. He closed it and turned. He looked to Dorn and gave the okay, but his eyes told otherwise. Dorn gave him a knowing look and then led the small band back down the tunnel and down the right tunnel. A few more minutes passed and the cleric, though momentarily deafened, led the tiring group down the tunnel. Suddenly, the floor opened up in front of her, forcing her to a sudden stop. Looking inside, they noticed that the drop wouldn't have been too bad, but the climb out would have been long and tiring and whoever had set that trap would have had enough time to see what it had caught.

The group slipped passed that trap at its sides. Silah caught up with Dorn.

"Why would a mine have all these traps set in it?" she asked him, regaining control over the volume of her voice. He shrugged in reply. He looked back ahead and saw the tunnel opening into a fairly large cavern. Stalactites majestically hung from the ceiling, pointing to their ground level counter-parts and a strange, glowing green moss had found a home on the walls. The group walked on, mouths hung open in awe. As they were walking along, Jomz made a discovery.

"Hey! I can hear our footsteps now!" he said rather loudly. The rest of the group winced at the sound of his voice echoing throughout the chamber and then glared at him angrily. Jomz too winced and then gave a nervous grin. At that moment, a large reptilian creature fell from the ceiling and landed behind Lor. Jomz face revealed the news to the whole group as he shouted out loud. "KOBOLD!"


	3. The Kobold Attack

Several more of the reptilian creatures dropped down from their posts in the cavern, practically surrounding the group. All of the members drew their weapons. They all brandished swords, save for the ranger who pulled out a quarterstaff. The cleric had trouble holding up her greatsword, which she used mainly for show. Dorn held his two swords tightly, ready for whatever was to happen.

Jomz was the first to attack, swinging his sword to the right in an attempt to slice a kobold in half, but the creature pulled back in time. Jomz then lifted the sword over his head and let it fall down onto the kobold, splitting its skull in two.

At that same moment, Silah raised her sword to kill a kobold, but found herself falling backwards onto the rock hard ground, though it did end up saving her from a crossbow shot. Lor swung his staff to the left, knocking one kobold off its feet, and then to the right, breaking the ribs of another kobold. Dorn wasn't in too much trouble either. He easily moved forward to slit the throat of one creature and then jabbed another in the gut, spilling its innards onto the cavern floor.

Silah slowly got up, still struggling with the weight of her massive sword. Once again she raised it, and she then let it fall onto an approaching kobold, severing its arm from its side. It shrieked in agony as it slowly moved back, watching blood flow from its wound in horror. Its screams of endless torture ended as Jomz approached and removed its head.

Lor took care of the last kobold, breaking its neck, and rejoined the group.

"Seems like a very dangerous place to me," he said softly, hoping more kobolds weren't around to hear them. Suddenly, a moving shadow caught his eye at the far side of the cavern.

"What is it?" Dorn asked. Lor just gave him a look. Dorn nodded and gave each person a motion, sending Lor and himself to the right and Silah and Jomz to the left. The moved through the maze of stalagmites toward the one marked by Lor as the one where the movement had been. Jomz picked up a spear from a dead kobold on the way over.

Jomz was the first to spot the creature. It was another kobold, but more decoratively dressed, possibly the kobold commander, and it was looking the other way, a crossbow in hand. Jomz aimed carefully and then hurled the spear forward. The kobold heard Jomz's grunt of effort and turned in time to see its own left arm be torn away. The arm, holding the crossbow, fell to the ground. The kobold's short cry echoed through the chamber, but was cut short as Dorn grabbed it by the throat and pressed it against the side of a stalagmite.

"All right," he said, ready to interrogate the prisoner, "Why are you here? What is in the tunnels ahead?" Instead of an answer, Dorn found kobold mucus on his face and a grin showing on its dog-like muzzle. Dorn threw the kobold to the ground and then wiped the saliva from his face. Silah quickly cast a spell on the creature, sending it into a peaceful sleep.

"Are we asking questions or slowly letting him die?" she asked Dorn. "I can heal his wounds enough to stop the bleeding. We could take him prisoner."

"No. We're done with him." He nodded to Jomz who had his sword ready. Silah turned her face as the kobold was decapitated. She turned back and saw a large grin on Jomz's face as if he enjoyed killing more than life itself. Lor was already searching the body for anything of value.

"Check this out," Lor exclaimed. He held up a small violet colored cloth. "I think it's velvet." This kobold was definitely of a higher status than the others. Silah took the cloth in hand as Lor continued to search the body. Jomz claimed the kobold's crossbow and a halfspear it held, along with any gold in its pouch. Dorn claimed a small potion of which he did not know what it was. Silah kept the cloth.

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With the small band of kobolds eliminated, the group was beginning to feel fatigue.

"We need some rest," Silah insisted.

"Should we camp here?" Jomz asked.

"The cavern is too big to stay safe," Dorn examined, "Perhaps if we went back to that room down the other tunnel."

"All the way down there!" Jomz argued. "With those…things in there as well?"

"That room may be the safest one in this mine for all we know." He looked at the discouraged group. "Come on. By the time we get there, we'll have enough strength left to bring down a giant."

"Whatever, Dorn," Lor said, "As long as we get a good night's sleep."

They left the cavern the way they had returned. Time passed by unnoticed as they finally approached that same wooden door. Dorn drew his swords, as did the others save for Lor who still wanted to use his staff.

"On the count of three," Dorn said, "One…two…"


	4. The Mess Hall

"THREE!"

Dorn threw open the door to what seemed like the mine's mess hall, surprising the group of kobolds inside. Jomz fired the crossbow he had stolen at the kobolds, hitting one in the leg. He then threw the halfspear, pinning that same kobold to the far wall.

Dorn followed his lead and threw one of his swords. The weapon flew fast the head of one of the kobolds, missing by inches, and then stuck itself to the wall next to the pinned kobold. Dorn threw the other sword in frustration, hitting the kobold he had missed square in the face, pinning that one too to the far wall.

In his short moment of victory, he had forgotten the other kobolds, which had gotten their crossbows loaded quickly. A bolt whizzed by his left ear and he know they could not survive the attack for long. He quickly flipped over a table to act as a shield between them and the crossbows.

"Good thinking," Silah complemented him.

"Thanks, but it won't do us much good back here," he complained. A bolt pierced the table next to his face. "We need a plan now!"

"Here," Jomz said, handing Dorn the crossbow he had stolen, "Cover me." Dorn nodded in agreement and then prepared himself. In a flash, Dorn jumped up and began firing shots at the kobolds. He managed to kill one, piecing its chest, but he wasn't really aiming. He just needed to give Jomz enough time to do his job.

Jomz had circled around, flanking the kobolds as Dorn kept their attention to the problem at hand. At last he was behind them. Dorn ducked beneath the table as he saw Jomz's sword rise. He knew Jomz liked it bloody. Possibly too bloody. He pulled Silah down as she tried to get up to watch.

"Trust me," he said, "You don't want to watch." A few seconds later, Jomz gave them the okay. Silah wasn't too sickened by the sight of the dead kobolds, practically in hundreds of pieces. It was the knowledge that Jomz would actually be as low as to go to unneeded lengths to kill his enemies that made her feel ill. In fact, she thought she could feel her head grow slowly warmer.

They cleaned up the mess the best they could with what they could find. It was at that point that the group started rubbing their foreheads almost simultaneously. Dorn was the first to notice.

"You guys okay?" he asked.

"I feel like I have a small fever," Lor commented.

"Strange," Silah said, "So do I."

"As do I," said Jomz, "Dorn?"

"The same, I'm afraid," he said. "What is causing it?"

"Could it…could it be that illness the peasant was talking about?" Silah suggested.

"I've got no other explanation."

"Well, that's just great," Jomz exclaimed, throwing down the halfspear he had just cleaned. "We fight blood-thirsty monsters all day just to be struck ill by some pathetic parasite. That's our luck for you."

"I call it irony," Lor laughed, massaging his still burning head.

"Can you do anything about it, Silah?" Dorn asked the cleric.

"I can probably calm the symptoms but I can't fully heal us without knowledge of the disease," she answered.

"Please do so. We'll probably need all the sleep we can get tonight so we can get to the bottom of this."

Silah went around the room, placing her hand on each man's head and softly chanting incantations. The burning lessened and the group soon found sleep.


	5. Wolves

"Back with the firewood already?" Tateland asked his large friend as he fed his pet weasel that sat on his shoulder. The barbarian dropped an armful of logs that any other man would have found impossible to carry. "I see you brought the whole forest." The large barbarian gave him a confused look. "I was kidding."

They sat around the fire, eating rabbits caught by Slaut while he was out for the wood. Suddenly, a howl ripped through the air, closer than Tateland would have liked.

"Go, Horgal," he whispered to the weasel. The rodent ran off into the forest. Seconds slowly turned into minutes, and Tateland's little companion never returned. Another howl sounded. Slaut stood, gripping his battle axe firmly.

"Not real wolves," the barbarian stated as he listened. He then slowly started to make his way to the forest. Tateland quickly followed him, fearing for his safety if he were alone in the coming night.

They walked through the trees, Tateland reaching out with his feelings, searching for his lost companion. Then, a large wolf jumped out from behind a tree, growling. Slaut threw his axe through the air, barely missing the wolf and hitting a tree. Tateland quickly started to cast a spell to shoot at the wolf. From behind, he heard another growl. He turned to see a wolf clamp its jaws onto his legs.

Tateland yelled out in pain as the teeth were torn away by Slaut. The massive barbarian threw the wolf at its companion, both then running.

"Move," Slaut said, grabbing his axe from the tree, "Wolves come back soon."

"I thought you said wolves didn't make those howls?" Tateland asked as he leaned on his friend for support.

"Wolves didn't. Something bigger." Tateland quickly tried to move back to camp, Slaut having to help the injured wizard.

They reached the camp without further incident, or so they thought. As they returned to the spot where their fire had been, a massive wolf jumped out of the forest, growling, ten meters to their right. But as it came closer, they could notice that it was more than just a wolf. It stood on its hind legs as it once again howled. The form of the wolf was more human than a real wolf's. Slaut pushed Tateland out of the way as the beast pounced. It forced Slaut to his back and stood on top of him, trying to bite the barbarian's neck.

Tateland quickly recovered from the massive push. He stood to his feet, ignoring the steadily increasing pain in his leg. He carefully took aim and started chanting. Flames leapt from his fingers, hitting the monster's side. It didn't flinch, but Slaut could smell the burnt flesh and hair. It was definitely in pain and even more angry than before. Tateland pulled out his quarter-staff and hit it in the head. It forgot about Slaut. The wolf-like beast pounced at the poor Wizard, knocking him to the ground.

Slaut took the chance and threw his axe again, this time hitting its mark. A furry leg fell to the ground as the rest of the creature struggled to run back into the woods.

"Slaut…" Tateland struggled to say, "Gather the supplies…go…into the mine." The barbarian couldn't agree more. If they were to remain safe from anymore harm, they had to go into the mines. Slaut quickly packed everything up and then threw the wounded wizard over his shoulders. They went about halfway down the tunnel when they decided to stop and rest. They would be safe, for now.


End file.
